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Judicial Observation and
Experience Program is Launched |
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The School of Law now offers its students a new opportunity to gain
real-life experience in the courtroom. The Judicial Observation and
Experience Program, which began operation last summer, was
established through the S.C. Chief Justice’s Commission on the
Profession. The program aims to improve professionalism among
lawyers by providing students an opportunity to work with South
Carolina judges for two to three weeks.
The program brings together many resources from the School of Law
and the court system. The law school recruits students for the
program through the Office of Career Services. Judge Robert
Armstrong of the Family Court then matches judges and participants,
with some judges working with more than one student. The law
school’s Pro Bono Program provides the single training session that
students receive before participating in the program. Professor Rob
Wilcox supervises the program’s overall operation through his
involvement in the Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough Center on
Professionalism. Nearly 50 students participated in the new program
during the summer of 2004 and over three dozen family, circuit, and
court of appeals judges volunteered as mentors. Judges from all
areas of the state participated, allowing many students to intern in
courtrooms within their hometowns.
Through the Judicial Observation and Experience Program,
participants get to experience a courtroom from a judge’s
perspective. They gain a unique understanding of professionalism and
an increased likelihood for exceptional conduct in the courtroom.
The program hopes to achieve a better understanding between lawyers
and judges as to how lawyers interact with the court and what
constitutes an effective lawyer.
The School of Law plans to survey the participants for feedback in
making improvements and further developing the program. Neither
students nor judges receive monetary compensation for their efforts.
Gaining a higher standard of professionalism is their reward.
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